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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Sketch to Finish - The First Ripples...

Here are the first two ripples I contributed to Kelly's fantastic Ripple blog. Simple though they may seem, I researched quite a few photographs and videos to make sure I got the look of each bird correct.

When looking at birds to paint, the plover really spoke to me. It's one of the dozens of coastal birds that depend on the marshlands and shallows for its survival. As if the oil spill wasn't bad enough, plovers are endangered in many areas of the country because they nest, hunt and live on the beach itself. Increased human activity and development have all but obliterated their habitat.

My birds are on their way to Louisiana right now. Here's what they ended up looking like:

4 comments:

Gems they are! Every artist that has picked up a pencil - or a brush or a stylus and created a piece based on a gulf animal has touched me. Little expresions of care for the creatures who make life beauitful and need help desperatley. These were fabulous!

Those are precious, Diandra and they really make me want to save them. I can tell you put a lot of love into these. It's crazy that this oil has still not been stopped from shooting into the ocean and destroying so many living things and livelihoods. Your bright little birds bring hope.

Sketches always seem so alive. No matter how beautiful the finish -the sketch is the spark of life in the work. Artists thrill to see each others' process. Here we want to share our own sketches and our love of the art of the sketch with you.